Inside Chicago’s Commodities Exchange

An internship in information systems at CME Group has given Jake Depaul ’18, an information systems major, a jump-start on his career in technology.

The internship began the summer before Depaul’s junior year and potentially could last as long as the summer following graduation. He’s worked there full-time during the summer and part-time during the school year. “My managers know that being a student comes first,” he said.

CME Group is the parent of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade and other exchanges that trade futures contracts and options in agricultural goods, financial instruments and other commodities.

Depaul works on the team that supports employees with their desktop computers, setting up monitors and keyboards and troubleshooting problems. He also assists at the company’s data center, attending to systemwide maintenance and upgrades that are handled in the late afternoon after trading hours. “I enjoy that part because there’s not the pressure of an employee who is unable to work because his computer is down,” he said.

A native of Villa Park, Ill., Depaul “grew up messing around on computers.” An AP computer science class in high school heightened his interest. His sweet spot is looking at the big picture—“the blueprint of an office system and how the parts relate to each other,” he said.

In his free time, Depaul has volunteered for service work with his fraternity, Alpha Sigma Phi, sprucing up area parks and assisting at fundraising events. He also participates in intramural basketball and football, and seeks out pickup basketball games.

He follows the Chicago professional teams, including the White Sox, who recently have been overshadowed by the championship-contending Chicago Cubs. “I still mess with my friends who are Cubs fans,” he said. “But I can’t rag on them too much.”